 |
| "Teen People" from Summer 1999 |
On my lovely, picturesque stroll down memory lane, I conjured up non-artificially sweet memories of great pop music from the '90s till now. It still, arguably, exists! Here is my list for the 1990s (if I included them all, this entry would be out of control), in chronological order.
"MUSIC BOX," MARIAH CAREY (1993)
This is the first musical purchase I ever made (or requested to be made on my behalf), and it was in cassette tape form. I had two copies which I listened to until both broke. And I was still in the single digits, age-wise. I think that's pretty telling. I downloaded it in its digital form last year and love it every bit as much as I did back then. I actually prefer "Music Box" to "Daydream," most probably because I wasn't subject to the overplaying of most of the songs ("One Sweet Day" and "Always Be My Baby" in particular).
"FACE THE MUSIC," NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK/NKOTB (1994)
I think this album was the New Kids' best effort, and the one that has probably garnered the least amount of attention. After a short hiatus in 1992, the New Kids came back with a new image and a new sound, one more deeply rooted in R&B ... and it was mostly rejected. I get it, teenage girls are fickle and they probably don't want their idols to look like men or have facial hair. But this album was great! From "You Got The Flavor" and "Let's Play House," which are upbeat and a little naughty, to the R&B love songs ("Never Let You Go," "I Can't Believe It's Over") to the soppy pop ones ("If You Go Away") ... it's the stuff teenaged girls' dreams are made of!
"BACKSTREET BOYS," BACKSTREET BOYS (1996)
The Backstreet Boys album I'm referring to is not the 1997 self-titled debut album released in the United States, but the one that became an international hit when Americans were still into Alanis Morissette and grunge/ska/Coolio or whatever. The U.S. version of the album was an amalgamation of songs from two albums that had already become hits overseas. Though both of their first two albums were great, I prefer the first one because it is a little more playful and upbeat. "Let's Have A Party" will always remind me of long summer road trips with my family, and "Get Down (You're The One For Me)" is a song I can still get down to today, though only in the privacy of my own room, and "Quit Playin' Games (With My Heart)"? C'mon. 2000's "Black & Blue" was the next best BSB album for me, beating out the possibly overhyped "Millennium" (1999).
"JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT," JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT (1996)
I don't think anyone really knows this album exists. This is actually JLH's third studio album. Jennifer Love Hewitt attempted to rekindle her singing career between 1999 and 2002, but mostly people were like, "Why is Jennifer Love Hewitt singing?" I knew the answer to that because she was a cast member of my favorite show as a child, "Kids, Incorporated." She had a beautiful voice then and I'm sure she has a beautiful voice now, but darn it, won't the world let her show it? Her self-titled album was a real gem ... I haven't really heard the earlier ones in their entirety, but this one is a little more mature than expected for the sixteen or seventeen years she was at the time, and it's laid back instead of saccharine sweet. It hits that late '90s sound right in the head, though, and does it with flying colors. Ohh, the memories of summer 1997 that come flying back when I press play ...
"KEEP ON," NO AUTHORITY (1997)
"Keep On" was NA's debut album under Michael Jackson's record label, and the (FAR) greater of the two albums they released. Around 2000, they were given a bit of an image makeover and rebranding and were then thrown against Radio Disney walls. They didn't stick and they disappeared. I spotted one of the lead singers Ricky Godinez on an episode of Audrina Patridge's VH1 reality show a couple years ago (I ain't ashamed!). He is apparently a very flamboyant pilates instructor going by the moniker Ricky Rebel now ... we knew it was bound to happen. "Keep On" has a sexy, sleek, smooth assurance that should be borderline illegal for teenage boys their age (they were about 15-18 years old at the time) to wield. Plus, these are not bad looking guys.
Here's what they look like in action:
"SPICEWORLD," SPICE GIRLS (1997)
I think of all the albums on this '90s list, this is the most bubblegum. While I never cared for the album's lead single "Spice Up Your Life," this album has a ton of really upbeat, happy-go-lucky tunes like "Stop," "Do It," even "Too Much." Lest you think this album was entirely bubblegum pink, the Spice Girls temper the notion with "Viva Forever," "Denying" and sultry/cosmopolitan "Saturday Night Divas," making the album an overall dusty rose or mauve. I feel that the Spice Girls' music is remembered as being kiddy pop or completely bubblegum, but it's really not.
"'N SYNC," 'N SYNC (1998)
I'm going to throw 'N Sync a bone here. This might be the only time, apart from their awesome Christmas album, that I do so ever again. Like the Backstreet Boys, they released an album internationally before bringing it home, but I have never heard those albums because I am not an 'N Sync fan. The 1998 U.S. release was really fun, and infectious, infectious, infectious. Personally speaking, I feel that 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys came from almost identical roots (duh, Lou Pearlman), but as they progressed, they grew further apart in sound and style. After this album, I just didn't really care for 'N Sync, but there were some great songs on this one -- "Sailing," "For The Girl Who Has Everything," "Tearin' Up My Heart" ... any song that features J.C. Chasez's beautiful voice.
"... BABY ONE MORE TIME," BRITNEY SPEARS (1998)
Oh my gosh, the craze that came with the release of this album ... the comparisons to Tiffany and Debbie Gibson (really?). I guess the U.S. just had a huge gaping hole, waiting to be filled by a female teen idol. Britney was the "girl-next-door" who came along and gave people (oftentimes false) hope that they could be stars, too. I bought into the whole thing -- I had the fuzzy pink hair ties. Even though the song "... Baby One More Time" isn't by any means extraordinary, I still think it's one of the best teen pop songs of my generation. Even better than "I Want It That Way," by my favorite pop band ever. Heresy, I know. But seriously, Britney's first album was pretty superb, with songs like "From The Bottom Of My Broken Heart," "Born To Make You Happy" and "Sometimes." Her next album, to me, had none of the earnestness of her debut, and by the time "Britney" came around, I was scraping the bottom of the barrel to find songs I liked or even related to. Pop star gone rebellious, and not in a good way!
"JORDAN KNIGHT," JORDAN KNIGHT (1999)
This album is seriously underrated, and it's not even lust talking. Jordan's voice was good-to-great during his initial run with the New Kids, but it was phenomenal when he tried to make it on his own. With a little dip into the R&B pool and some help from producers, I think this album really showcased his best. "Separate Ways," "I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man," "Broken By You" ... it's all great. I'm not sure why he and his people went with "Give It To You" as the lead single, but it gained him some attention, so I guess it did what it was supposed to.
"CHRISTINA AGUILERA," CHRISTINA AGUILERA (1999)
I'd actually forgotten how great this album was until I decided to watch the "What A Girl Wants" video on YouTube and got sucked into the rabbit hole that is YouTube. "So Emotional," "Blessed" ... hell, every song is pop perfection. I can only believe that Christina Aguilera really is and was a record company's wildest fantasies personified.
"SWEET KISSES," JESSICA SIMPSON (1999)
Before Jessica Simpson became a reality television laughingstock, she was a halfway-legitimate singer. I remember hearing about her before she made it and taking a keen interest in her getting far. I mean, the girl's got a good voice. I remember hearing "I Wanna Love You Forever" on Z100 past midnight one day, and then making sure I was by the radio just to hear it in the wee hours in the days after until it finally picked up and moved into afternoons, mornings and evenings. I nearly forgot about "Sweet Kisses" with all of the mess that came for Jessica Simpson in the '00s, but this is a solid pop album, one that is a little heavier on the slow songs and almost gospel-leaning. And it features a "duet" with Destiny's Child.
Stay tuned for the 2000s list!
I’m a big fan of R&B music and when I discovered Palm Beach Broadcasting’s R&B station, I was the happiest person on earth. My stereo is always tuned on X102.3 www.thex1023.com . You can stream live or download all your favorite R&B music.
ReplyDelete